The Buick Enspire Is an All-Electric Concept SUV with 550 HP

Buick is boldly jumping into the electric fray with an attractively styled and technologically interesting new concept car called the Enspire, which takes the form of—surprise!—a compact crossover. It supposedly packs an all-electric drivetrain with 550 horsepower and a battery pack providing 370 miles of range, although these numbers might be typical concept-car flights of fancy at this stage.

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Few details are provided for this impressive-sounding powertrain beyond its trade name, eMotion, and that it uses two electric motors—one at each axle—to turn all four wheels. Buick claims a zero-to-60-mph time of 4.0 seconds and says that the battery pack supports inductive charging capability and can replenish 80 percent of its capacity within 40 minutes with fast charging. As is typical of concept EVs, we don’t have information about the makeup or the size of the battery pack, although we can assume that it’s large given the ambitious range estimate.

The Enspire is sized similarly to the current Buick Envision crossover, and it features a sleek, modern design that’s not all that adventurous for a concept, suggesting that this overall look may reach production sooner rather than later. Oversize wheels, nearly nonexistent side mirrors, a lack of door handles, and a few lighting elements are the only real fanciful exterior features. The interior is a bit more pie-in-the-sky in its execution, featuring huge display screens, a few exotic-looking materials, and an augmented-reality display that projects onto the windshield.

It’s telling that Buick is showing the Enspire at the Beijing auto show; China is Buick’s biggest market, and the country is embracing EVs more and more as its emissions regulations tighten. If the Enspire does foretell an eventual replacement for the Envision or an entirely new crossover model, it’s a sure bet that it will be offered with an electric powertrain in China. It’s hard to say at this point what the Enspire means for the U.S. market, as Buick has not made any announcements regarding electrification plans on our shores. But given its looks and its promising powertrain, we’re hoping to hear more about the Enspire sometime in the near future.